No such thing as a free lunch (CES Keynote announcement)

by: Ben Berry - posted: 8/3/2010 8:59:00 PM

It's August, but evidently it's never too soon for the CEA to start pumping the hype machine for CES 2011. I've been to vegas several times for this conference and neither the show nor Vegas has ever disappointed. Today, the CEA had a luncheon here in Boston for the local press. It was basically to begin enlisting the interest of the media, and to talk about the layout for this years show.

And the big news is.... this years show is going to be almost exactly the same as last years show. Same layout, same schedules, same pretty much everything. While that's not exactly exciting, it's good news. Last years CES was the best yet, so more of the same will be terrific.

Today's real piece of news wasthe announcement of the opening keynote, that being the CEO of Verizon. While he'll be highlighting their 4G tech, there's bound to be some coverage of gaming.

While the luncheon was at a terrific little steakhouse, and CEA picked up the tab, parking in downtown Boston is such a sham that I wound up paying as much for parking as my lunch cost. Either way it was worth it to get this piece of information and start really thinking about CES 2011. Thanks to the lovely folks at the Imperial Palace, I already have my room.

VERIZON’S IVAN SEIDENBERG TO DELIVER OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE 2011 INTERNATIONAL CES
 
Seidenberg’s CES Keynote to Highlight Company’s Vision for its
LTE 4G Wireless Technology
 

Arlington, Va., Aug. 4, 2010 –The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® announced today that Verizon Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2011 International CES^®. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2011 International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, will be held January 6-9, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
“Ivan is a terrific leader who has positioned Verizon as a top global  provider of communications, information and entertainment across a wide variety of platforms,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “Verizon embraces innovation and its vast broadband networks touch all facets of the technology ecosystem. We are pleased to welcome Ivan to the CES stage for his debut keynote and look forward to hearing the vision for Verizon’s next generation of products and services.”
 
            Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Verizon, has led Verizon since its inception in 2000 following the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. He has transformed the company into a premier global network company by building a nationwide wireless network, deploying high-speed fiber broadband direct to homes, and expanding its global Internet backbone network around the world.  Verizon's leadership in network innovation has earned the company numerous awards, including Fortune’s 2010 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list at No.1 in the telecommunications sector.
 
Seidenberg will deliver his CES keynote address at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 6, 2011 in the Hilton Center, following a State of the CE Industry keynote address delivered by Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer will give a preshow keynote address at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5, in the Las Vegas Hilton Center.
 
Additional 2011 CES keynote addresses will be announced in the coming months.
 
The 2011 International CES will feature 2,500 global technology companies unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 major product categories including the latest in audio, automotive electronics, connected home technologies, digital imaging, electronic gaming, entertainment/content and more. For more information on the 2011 International CES, visit CESweb.org.